Shang Shiyan felt her face burning with pain, as though someone were tearing the skin from it alive. She forced her eyes open, but a haze of blood clouded her vision.
“Hurry up—her face, I want it.”
The familiar voice stunned her for a moment. It was her younger sister, Shang Yunrou.
“Shang Yunrou?” Her weak voice trembled as she instinctively reached out, only to be kicked away. Agony surged through her chest.
“You wretched woman—how dare you wake up now?”
Shang Shiyan struggled to rise. Through the blood mist, she wiped at her eyes and finally saw Shang Yunrou clearly.
“Shang Yunrou! You still dare to show your face to me!” Hatred filled her gaze. She wanted to tear Shang Yunrou apart, but the searing pain in her jaw robbed her of strength, leaving her trembling all over. Lowering her eyes, she saw her hands drenched in blood. Horrified, she touched her chin—only to realize half her face had already been ripped away, the skin hanging loosely from her jaw. Her eyes widened in shock. “My face… my skin…!”
“Shang Yunrou! You vile creature! What else do you want?”
“Isn’t it obvious, dear sister? I want your face.”
“Everything of yours is already mine. All that’s left is this face—so like Father’s. With it, I’ll be the rightful daughter of the Shang household.”
“Don’t worry. After you die, I’ll live in your place. From now on, I *am* Shang Shiyan. Father, our brothers, even your beloved Crown Prince Shen Shian—they’ll all be mine.”
“You—you!” Shang Shiyan’s fury consumed her. She had already lost everything, cast into ruin, yet Shang Yunrou still wanted more.
“Madwoman! You’re insane!” Her eyes burned red.
“The madwoman is you, sister.” Shang Yunrou’s lips curled into a triumphant smile.
“Everyone in the capital knows—the Marquis’s daughter is nothing but a lunatic cast out of her own home.”
At the thought of her plight, a tear slid down Shang Shiyan’s cheek.
Her mother, who loved her most, was dead. Her father and brothers had driven her out. Homeless, disgraced, she had nowhere to go.
And Shang Yunrou—the illegitimate child who stole everything, who drove her mother to death, who paraded her own birth mother into the household—stood before her, gloating.
“I always treated you as my sister! Why must you do this to me?” Shang Shiyan’s eyes brimmed with hatred and disbelief.
Shang Yunrou laughed lightly, stepping forward to grind her heel into Shang Shiyan’s hand. “Sister? I’m no blood kin of yours. I’m someone who crossed into this world. And in a world that devours the weak, how else could I survive but by stealing your fate—your protagonist’s destiny?”
Her brows arched proudly. “Why should *you* be Heaven’s favored child? Born into the Marquis’s house, spoiled by parents, adored by brothers, betrothed to the Crown Prince—all because you were the chosen heroine. Why should such a life be wasted on a fool like you?”
Shang Shiyan stared at her in shock, unable to comprehend. Heaven’s favored child?
Yes, before fourteen, she had been cherished beyond measure. The only legitimate daughter, adored by her brothers, was promised to the Crown Prince. But then Shang Yunrou appeared—and everything changed.
Her father brought Shang Yunrou into the household, claiming her as kin. From then on, everyone turned to Shang Yunrou, protecting and indulging her. Even the Crown Prince, once devoted to Shang Shiyan, knelt for three days before the Empress to beg for Shang Yunrou’s hand.
Within a year, the entire household treated Shang Yunrou as their treasure.
Shang Shiyan was framed, disgraced, cast out. Her mother begged for mercy but was abandoned—and later driven to death by Shang Yunrou’s schemes.
Homeless, dishonored, Shang Shiyan was dragged into ruin. Now, chained and bleeding, she felt the blade slice across her cheek, peeling her skin away inch by inch. Agony consumed her.
“Shang Yunrou—you’ll die a miserable death!” she rasped. “You think stolen things will ever truly be yours? You’re a selfish, vile creature. Your end will be nothing but ruin!”
But Shang Yunrou only laughed, holding Shang Shiyan’s bloodied face in her hands.
“Kill her. Slice her apart. Leave her no chance to live. I won’t risk losing the life I’ve taken.”
Shang Shiyan’s hatred burned, but her consciousness slipped into darkness.